Groktimus Primal's Experience

I'm a modern man from Massachusetts. I've always looked toward science and the future for answers. I've never been one to buy into religion or any concept that did not seem well grounded in fact. I was once about 400 LBS and with the help of low carb dieting I lost over 200 LBS however over many years I gained half of it back because I allowed the carbs to creep back into my life. I like Mark's reasoning and approach. I now consider myself a low carb primal lifestyler. I plan to post things I discover and interesting tidbits here as well as my weight and thoughts. -Jim

Groktimus Primal's Atkin's vs. Primal

I know there are articles on this topic already but having recently read the Blueprint and everything I could get my hands on by Atkin's I feel the need to compare the two. I think that for those in need of serious weight loss that a thorough understanding of both is very helpful.

The Primal diet is a bit more liberal with the carbs but really not much if people stop treating Atkins like the induction phase is the entire diet. Also Atkin's always recommended sticking to whole foods even though he sold bars and shakes. Atkin's also recommended organic and grass fed foods as preferable and was pretty much against the consumption of grains. True he was more liberal with cheese and legumes not caring what time period such things became available to mankind.

He also advocated exercise in the form of play. His choice was tennis. Many folks seem to think he was anti-exercise. He considered supplementation a requirement of the modern diet.

Atkin's said his diet was a three legged stool of diet-exercise-supplementation. Now the Primal diet does make it more of a lifestyle by addressing sleep and types of exercise and even sun ex-poser. When you put the two diets together to customize it for personal preference and needs it is truly awesome.

Anytime I eat I consider what I like in relation to the carb count, nutritional content, whether it's a whole food and if my body can handle it based on Primal evolutionary concepts and experience. This has been a winning combination for me and pretty soon it is a thoughtless habit.

Groktimus Primal's -The Talosian Trap

The Talosian Trap

Alright this is a truly geeky reference in the title! For those of you more fortunate (who have lives) I will explain the reference from Star Trek. The Talosians were a race of beings who had evolved to such an extent that they reached the point of causing near self extinction. Their mental powers were so great that they had mastered the art of creating illusions. As a result they fell prey to an easy lifestyle of generating illusions for entertainment and lost the ability or desire to strive for anything else. Pretty much they created mental television! If they had also created McDonald's they would have definitely been extinct much sooner.

I have learned (although late in life) that the path of least resistance often leads to more pain and suffering in the long run than the so called difficult path. This is a perfect analogy for a low carb primal lifestyle. Certainly the pain of illness and decrepitude involves much greater suffering and cost than the annoyance of eating healthy and getting some exercise. It is sometimes difficult to sacrifice a bit of immediate happiness to leverage the future. Keeping that in mind is the key.

Groktimus Primal's - The Scariest Thing

The Scariest Thing

I remember reading in the Blueprint Mark stating that perhaps the scariest single piece of information is the realization that you are on your own. Not many people know or will tell you the truth about food and of course most of us know that corporations and politicians can't be trusted.

When I think of how many years I wasted looking for a dieting solution it's safe to say I threw away if not the majority of my life then at least the best years. Then I stop and think about all the other people all over the world who have basically had their kneecaps broken by the self serving lies of special interest groups.

It may well be time to return to our past and maybe even implement some sort of population control. It sounds extreme but I wouldn't want to be born into a world that is intent upon slowly poisoning me to death for as long as I manage to live.

The thing that struck terror into me when I finally understood what was happening is the brainwashing of children. I did at a reasonable age learn that certain foods/products were not healthy but I did not know enough to help with my addiction to carbs.

To a child in today's world they learn through osmosis from their environment and experience what is "normal". If you grew up being bombarded with junk food commercials and eating junk then you believe it is normal and don't really think to question it until you are older and in deep crap.

Teach the children well and don't have too many seem to be the best ideas to me. Just like religion, they get them while they are young otherwise you would never believe such tall tales once you reach adulthood without the proper "conditioning".

Groktimus Primal's - Natural Selection

Groktimus Primal's - Natural Selection

The thought had crossed my mind when viewing life competitively (such as seeking employment) but it never really sank in until Mark said the Primal Blueprint could be classified as an elitist diet because we are all still competing for survival by hunting and gathering the best this overpopulated world still has to offer.

Knowing that, I guess it would make sense and be highly profitable for money hungry corporations to corner the market of food production and misdirect us at every turns so we don't even understand what good food is so we can not properly seek it out even if it was affordable.

If you can keep people weak, poor and uneducated (especially without them realizing it) you certainly have a winning combination if selfish gain is all you desire. Natural selection only changes form it does not go away. Perhaps it would with a truly enlightened race which I doubt humanity will ever achieve. (we don't seem to be trying very hard. I guess it's not "profitable").

It's especially bad when our own genetics are used as a weapon. Food companies know what is addictive (just like big tobacco) and they use this to ensnare us. By the time we figure it out we are forty years old and sucking eggs. (or a "downer cow" as Mark would say)

Mark's recent link to Cracked.com's food posting talked about them using wood pulp in muffins. My grandmother use to eat Hollywood diet bread which contained sawdust! The truly scary thing is that this is probably one of the relatively good additives. It most likely acts as fiber and does not get absorbed rather than being toxic or adding non-nutritive calories.

New or old, snake oil is snake oil and it's always been around just perhaps not in high quantity. I am not looking forward to living in the third world country American is becoming.

Groktimus Primal's - Primal Pets

Groktimus Primal's - Primal Pets

As I began applying Primal consideration (on top of the low carb consideration) to my diet a thought occurred to me. The cat was screaming for food as he does every ten minutes all though he is certainly fed too much as it is. It then occurred to me that the dog lives to eat and is fighting a weight problem he does not want to win. Everyone (I think) takes for granted that all pets are pigs by nature and many will eat until they puke if given the chance. I instantly thought that the food manufactures are probably taking advantage of "dumb" animals and ignorant owners by doing the same thing to them that they do to us. Namely feeding them a bunch of empty carbs to produce a cheap product that would then set the pets up on the same blood sugar roller coaster and drive them to eat voraciously every chance they get. As far as I know pet foods have almost no regulations. I don't think they even have to tell you what it's composed of. I certainly know the corporations aren't going to look after an animal's best interest if they don't bother to do that for humans.

I am not affiliated with the company nor have I tried it's products but I would love to hear from someone who has. I suspect we will find pets are in the same boat we are with even less people advocating for them. Most people probably haven't even given it a thought. We are taught pets are suppose to eat "pet food" just like Milk, Juice, Toast and Trix are part of a complete breakfast for those who wish a slow fat death!

Groktimus Primal's - Those Who Can't

Groktimus Primal's - Those Who Can't

What does it take to be a health and fitness expert? From my observations the only true requirement is that you must look good or as Mark would say "Look Good Naked (LGN)". I see it all the time, people who were never fat and likely naturally gifted mesomorphs are instantly experts. In my opinion these people are often less credibly than people who are still out of shape but made significant strides to overcome their natural endomorph tendencies.

The other thing I see happen is even worse. Someone manages to lose weight and instead of being truthful they realize they can't fight "Conventional Wisdom" and become immediate sell-outs in order to become marketable.

The Biggest Loser is the perfect example. The show (like most TV) is designed to entertain and it makes making fun of fat people even more socially acceptable (being fat is the only thing Political Correctness has not caught up with) than it already is. Do you think for one moment if Jillian did not have a killer body or she used the words low carb or Primal too often that she would be on the show? Does anyone really intend to keep up that kind of exercise output and strict eating when they get home? Jillian even endorses weight loss pills. I seriously doubt any pills significantly helped her get where is today and if they did it was certainly not something over-the-counter.

Having said all that in disgust I must say I have watched some of the shows and found humor in the suffering and indignities that take place even though I could have been a contestant for many years myself. Also I can't really blame her or anyone else for selling out. If someone came to me and said "Endorse these bogus products and you won't have to worry about earning a living" I might do one of Mark's all out sprints trying to find a pen

Groktimus Primal's - Extorted Protection Money

Groktimus Primal's - Extorted Protection Money

Most people are in agreement that our healthcare system is broken on so many levels. Mark pretty much said that they only treat the symptoms (often poorly) and almost never the root cause of illness or prevention. Taking a drug is like sticking your finger in a dike, the problem just erupts in a different location. I don't think most people want to read another diatribe about all the problems but I have noted some sickening things.

Let me describe my insurance situation in Massachusetts. I see about $50 a week fly out the window and I assume my employer is probably kicking in at least as much but probably more. I'm actually lucky as I only have a $1200 deductible of course it still doesn't pay a whole hell of a lot if you manage to meet the deductible. Really the insurance is only worthwhile if I get hit by a bus.

So why do I buy the health insurance? Aside from getting old and fear of something catastrophic I have some interesting and in my opinion criminal reasons...

1. Extortion - Massachusetts makes you buy health insurance or they raise your taxes. They literally force you to buy a crappy product whether you can really afford it or not.

2. Protection Money - Most Doctor's won't accept you as a patient without insurance even if you can pay out-of-pocket. The system is rigged.

3. More Protection Money - If you are Warren Buffet and you do manage to get medical care without insurance be prepared to pay 2 to 4 times the price the service normally costs because without insurance you no longer qualify for the "negotiated" rates. Believe it or not when you go to the Doctor and your insurance pays nothing you still got a great deal because without the worthless-pay-nothing insurance your bill probably would have been 2 to 4 times higher. They should really just hand you the paperwork to file for bankruptcy rather than actually waste time trying to bill you for that crazy amount.

If you don't like it leave because in politically correct, socialized America freedom is not only not free it is nonexistent.

Perhaps the best part? By the time you figure your insurance out they will have changed you to a different company with an even cheesier (but more costly) plan!

Groktimus Primal's - The New Messiah

Groktimus Primal's - The New Messiah

Not to give Mark a swelled head but he is definitely a bit of a savior. I have not seen such cohesion in bringing a like minded group together since Dr. Atkin's died. I consider myself to be somewhat enlightened considering the amount of my life I've dedicated to weight loss and health. Enlightened or not the Primal journey took some time for me to fully invest in. A friend showed me the MDA site and here are my initial thoughts and why I was mistaken...

I thought it was over the top taking a "diet" to an all encompassing way of life.
- The truth is that this is what I had been looking for all along but didn't realize it.

I thought the whole Grok thing was a bit gimmicky.
-Grok supplies useful analogies and is a fantastic symbol/mascot.

I thought he was selling ridiculously priced supplements.
-I examined the supplement ingredients and the prices are not that high for the list of comprehensive quality ingredients he supplies.

I thought he was mainly out to turn a buck.
-As he said there is nothing wrong with capitalism and he has to eat too.

I read Robb Wolf and Loren Cordain's books first because they seemed less hokey.
-Reading their books was a great idea but I find myself gravitating back to MDA for the daily wisdom and the community.

I am impressed that Mark seems to be brutally honest in his convictions.

Groktimus Primal's - Self Stress and Rituals

Groktimus Primal's - Self Stress and Rituals

I'm not a Doctor nor am I attractive enough to play one on TV but I've always suspected that I had a touch of OCD. (obsessive compulsive disorder) I write most of it off to being a creature of habit and enjoying consistency in every possible way but I know it's likely a tad more than that. If you use your OCD or repetitive nature to build positive repeatable habits it can be constructive to some extent but I have found that one's entire day can be slowly pecked away at doing needles rituals such as visiting websites that ceased to offer interesting content many moon's ago or just plain no longer interest you because perhaps your interests have shifted.

What happens then is you create anxiety if you do not perform your rituals or are pressed for time until you step back and truly consider what you are doing and the lack of value in it. I like to stop and say "Is this activity worth my time and attention?" The Zynga games are a fantastic example of this for many. I can not stand them myself.

Exercise or counting steps might be positive rituals but I can tell you getting in the habit of eating an even number of the same item (i.e. two of everything or four...) is not healthy. I think rituals give us a false sense of control (as does eating/lifestyle changes sometimes). Humans have a basic need to be in control even though deep down we all know most of this is an illusion and we are but frail boats at sea waiting for our luck to run out.